SAS Institute, the American software firm is ceasing operations in China. It has laid off about 400 employees with a severance pay of one month’s salary for each year of service. An additional two months’ pay along with an annual bonus has also been granted with assurance of salary through the end of 2025. An official statement is yet to be made public.
The headcount reduction was announced via a video and an e-mail. The organisation is looking at optimisation and sustainability in the longer term. The trimming of the workforce is reportedly part of that exercise. However, the firm’s third-party partners will continue to operate in China.
The software company has been operating in the Chinese market for about 25 years now having begun operations in 1999. It had established a research and development (R&D) centre as well as a support unit in Beijing in 2005.
The company’s headquarters are situated in North Carolina, US.
SAS is not the only company to end operations in China. IBM too closed down its IBM (China) Investment after over three decades in operation. At least a 1000 employees were laid off at IBM China Development Lab and China Systems Lab.